The Breakdown: When Dracula turns an African prince into a vampire and leaves him to rot, he isn't released until the 1970's, where he proceeds to unleash havoc in Los Angeles.
Watch If: You want an interesting and kick-ass film that follows the traditional story line just enough to be recognizable, but adds so much more.
Not If: You hate everything about the 1970s.
SECONDARY FACTS
Overall Rating: 4.2
Length: 1:33
Country: USA
Language: English
REVIEW
THE QUICK AND DIRTY
In the interest of full disclosure, I avoided watching this movie for a long time. For some reason I had it in my head that is was a spoof movie that offered little more than blaxploitation and crude humor. I was wrong. This film is and was a masterpiece, and is perhaps the least derivative version of Dracula I've ever seen. It is brilliantly written and engaging, and while there are humorous elements, it is a film to be taken on it own merits, and it has a lot of merits. Watch it. It's worth it. It's solid gold.
PREMISE: 4
So many Dracula films are either just a rehashing of the book, or a weirdly left-field derivative that has nothing to do with the original story line. Blacula, however, manages to be everything that I think a remake should be (Even though it isn't really a remake.) It is different enough from the Dracula story that to really criticize it for not being the same is ridiculous, but maintains some elements of the story, and cradles them in the pretext of its unique and fully original framing in a way that imbues the very, VERY overdone story-line with new and entertaining life.
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ACTING: 4
William Marshall is hands down the most "Dracula" feeling vampire portrayal I have seen in a long time. His voice and demeanor are perfect, and he some how manages to give a personality to his character that both lends itself to the more humorous moments while still granting an air of seriousness to the film as a whole. And, while his performance was far and away my favorite in the film, all of the actors did a phenomenal job. There's a universe where this film was an awful, over done schlock flick, (Which, having not seen it, I was under the impression it was) but I was pleasantly amazed by what was, in all aspects, a great film.
AUDIO AND VISUALS: 4
The stylistic choices made in this film are evocative of some of the horror greats that were its contemporaries, notable with a few moments that call to mind Bava and Argento, except more tasteful (surprisingly). It captures the visuals and sound of the 70s with a grace that makes it a must-see for any 70s fanatic, and manages to do so without being unwatchable to modern audiences.
ATMOSPHERE: 4
Very few films manage to walk the fine line of tongue-in-cheek humor and compelling storytelling with as much finesse as Blacula. Too often films sacrifice sincerity for comedy, or style for humor, but this one manages to perfectly dilute its tension with moments of amusement. It's not a laugh out loud movie, but it is fascinating and engaging, with just enough humor to sucker-punch in that nostalgic feeling that 70s-80s films, on their best days, manage to capture so well. It's captivating and overall, just a mouthful of good film.
DELIVERY: 5
This film is amazing. Go Watch it. It deserves to be one of the great vampire films, and is the perfect slice of good 70s horror. I have no complaints.
Starring
Written By: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig
Director: William Crain
Executive Producer: James H. Nicholson, Mark L. Rosen, Samuel Z. Arkoff
Affiliate Companies: American International Pictures (AIP), Power Productions
Music: Gene Page
Cinematography: John M. Stephens
Hair: Lola Kemp
Make Up: Fred B. Phillips
Special Effects: Roger George